When comparing IntelliJ IDEA vs Codenvy, the Slant community recommends IntelliJ IDEA for most people. In the question“What are the best JavaScript IDEs or editors?”IntelliJ IDEA is ranked 5th while Codenvy is ranked 18th. The most important reason people chose IntelliJ IDEA is:

IDEA places an emphasis in safe refactoring, offering a [variety of features](https://www.jetbrains.com/idea/features/refactoring.html) to make this possible for a variety of languages.
These features include safe delete, type migration and replacing method code duplicates.

Specs

Auto CompleteYes

Bracket MatchingYes

Code TemplatesYes

Cross PlatformYes

Integrated DebuggerYes

Multi Language SupportYes

PlatformsWindows, macOS, Linux

Source Control IntegrationYes

Very intuitive shortcuts and shortcut managementContains new ideas for boosting productivity

Pros

Pro

Smart refactorings

IDEA places an emphasis in safe refactoring, offering a variety of features to make this possible for a variety of languages.These features include safe delete, type migration and replacing method code duplicates.

Pro

Support for many languages

Pro

Intuitive and slick UI

IDEA has a clean, intuitive interface with some customization available (such as the Darcula theme).

Pro

Clear and detailed documentation

The documentation is exhaustive, easy to navigate, and clearly worded.

Pro

Free version available

There is a free community edition (open source) and an ultimate edition, which you can compare here.

The ultimate edition is available for free for one year for students but must be registered through an .edu e-mail account.

Pro

Many convenient features

These simplify the daily work, e.g. copy/cut a whole line without the need to select it.

Pro

Very powerful debugger

With ability to step into a certain part of a large method invocation (Shift+F7), drop frame, executing code snippets, showing method return values, etc.

Pro

Easy setup

Once an account is set up and the user has logged in, all that's needed to start is to pick a language, a framework and a PaaS. Codenvy also allows anonymous logins albeit with some important limitations.

Pro

On-demand, instant-access, real-time collaborative IDEs

Codenvy "Factory" feature enables developers to create temporary IDE workspaces with full code, build, test, deploy, and collaboration functionality that can be shared with a URL. Multiple people can work in the same workspace making code reviews and teaching simpler and faster. And there's no limit to collaborators.

Factories also work with external git repositories and can be shared with not registered users of Codenvy. It also allows counting how much a factory is used.

Pro

Has a fully functional free tier

Codenvy provides a fully functional free tier with 4 GB of RAM and unlimited workspaces, free and public projects and developers. Premium subscription start at $1/month and offers machines with up to 200GB of RAM. Codenvy also offers an on-premises solution that costs $300/user/year.

Pro

Powerful editor

Codenvy has a fast, secure browser-based editor that supports syntax highlighting, code completion, refactoring and more. It can be used to edit, build, run and debug projects. It even has multi-cursor support.

The layout will be familiar to most developer, especially those experienced with Eclipse, with a file explorer on the left, code on the right and tabs for builders, runners, terminal and events at the bottom.

Pro

Beginner-friendly

It allows going to any box and pick up a project and work on it.

Pro

Fantastic Java support

All Java builders, syntax highlighting, class navigator, jump to package and declaration, and JavaDoc are present in Codenvy.

Pro

Can provide a custom runtime environment

Codenvy can provide a runtime environment to test and debug code. This can also be used to share work progress with a client.

Codenvy uses Docker as the runtime application and gives access to Dockerfiles allowing any environment that runs on Linux to be built. This allows using any database, reverse proxy or builder, etc. Codenvy even provides SSH access to running container in every image.

There's also a selection of pre-built environments to speed up the development.

Pro

Git support

Codenvy supports all Git commands through UI and Codenvy CLI.

Codenvy also integrates well with all major Git hosting providers including GitHub, BitBucket, GitLab. Sign up, sign in, repo cloning, uploading SSH keys are supported. Tutorials for integrating various providers can be found here.

Pro

Provides a terminal with root access

Codenvy offers a terminal with full root access into the machine. Since machines can be defined with Dockerfiles this gives the ability to create any custom environment for building, running or debuging and all the access that's needed to use it as a local machine.

Pro

Partly open source

Codenvy is a full multi-user, multi-account, multi-tenant implementation of Eclipse Che.

Pro

Complete build lifecycle

Pro

Badge to start developing in one click

You can create a .codenvy.json containing the Factory configuration which includes what binaries to install and how to set up the IDE, may be even start the development server. Then create a badge and put it on your GitHub repository and people can start coding and may be compile and run your server with one click.

Pro

Integrates with a wide variety of tools

Pro

Self-hostable (priced)

Codenvy has an on-premises solution that allows running it on own hardware and behind a firewall. The service costs $300/user/year.

Pro

Automation of contribution to GitHub projects

Codenvy provides contribution button that can be placed in Readme.md file on GitHub. It automates contribution to the Github's projects. User clicks this button and it opens a ready to run/edit version of the project in Codenvy. If a user makes changes, Codenvy takes care of everything needed for the contribution on GitHub.

fork of the origin project on github

add ssh keys to push to github

commit

push

create pull request in the origin project

create factory url for review of this pull

post this factory in pull request.

Then project's owner can use posted link to code review/run project with changes.

Pro

Lots of built-in templates

Pro

Nice interface

Look and usability of Codenvy IDE are nice and pleasant.

Pro

Can be used for Android development

Can be used for android development by adding Eclipse plugin.

Pro

Easy projects sharing

Projects are share by sharing the link (public projects), adding access rights (private and public projects) and factory.

Factory allows to share projects along with build/run settings. To try run/review project recipient just need an URL. Factory also works with external git repositories so it allows share github/bitbucket/other git hosting projects. Recipient doesn't have to be registered. It also allows giving out a share button that activates the factory and counts how many times it is used.

Pro

Custom build system support

Codenvy allows setting up any build system via Dockerfile. Instructions on how to do it can be found here.

Pro

Has Eclipse plugin

Codenvy can be plugged into Eclipse offering choice between online and offline builds. Plugin can be found here.

Pro

Developer workspace replicas

Codenvy can create a recipe for a developer workspace that includes the build and run environment configuration plus all the IDE plug-ins, syntax rules, policies and other items. Then version and store that with the code in a repository. Makes it impossible to get a code change that doesn't build and run.

Pro

Quick support from staff

Pro

One-click automation

Pro

SSH Access

Can connect to the workspace via SSH for use with desktop editors.

Pro

Provides Java debugger

Pro

Includes Subversion support

Codenvy includes full subversion version control support.

Pro

Portable workspaces

You can send someone a short JSON file and your whole workspace (projects, config and runtime) can be replicated for them in a separate container. Great for coordinating among team members.

Pro

Install anywhere Docker runs

You can install Codenvy on any OS that has Docker running on it. The simple install syntax can work through proxies and even offline.

Cons

Con

Somewhat expensive

Con

Bugs are not solved as often as they should

They are more interested in adding new features or issuing new versions than solving bugs.

Con

Slow startup

Startup can be slow deepending on system configuration

Con

Built with closed source components

The version with full features is not opensource. Parts of the code are under apache licence though.

Con

Cannot open multiple projects in the same window

Con

Uses too much RAM

Con

Standard hotkeys behave differently

Seems like hotkeys assignment in Idea has no logical consistency.

Like «F3» is usually next match, «Ctrl+W» - close tab, etc — they map to some different action by default.There is a good effort in making the IDE friendly for immigrants from other products: there are options to use hotkeys from Eclipse, and even emacs. But these mappings are very incomplete. And help pages do not take this remapping into account, rather mentioning the standard hotkeys.

So, people coming from other IDEs/editors are doomed to using mouse and context menus (which are rather big and complex).

Con

Lack of plugins

IntelliJ supports a very small amount of plugins. Althrough thesse are 'quality approved', many features are missing and can't be implemented because of that.

Con

No SSH, FTP mode

For example, "Code everywhere" allows using SSH, FTP as base of project. In Codenvy it's possible only through VM.

Con

No custom keyboard shortcuts

No possibility to create custom keyboard shortcuts.

Con

Lacks two-factor authentication

Con

Non-optimistic UI, typing results in letters being sent to server and back and then they show.

Con

Free/libre

Con

No IE support

Does not support Internet Explorer and no official plans have been publicly announced for its addition.

Con

Slow installation by default

Trying to install with "npm install" and the server restarts before the installation. However, you can circumvent this by using npm install --no-bin-links.